Archie hurt as USC falls to Miami

CHARLESTON — Dominique Archie kept the towel over his face, even as he made the long walk from the bench to the training room. He did not watch as his team first fought without him, then eventually faded away.

Now the question is: How much longer will he be unable to help South Carolina?

USC may have suffered more than its first loss on Sunday night. Not only did the Gamecocks fall 85-70 to Miami in the final of the Charleston Classic, but Archie — the team’s leading scorer and rebounder the first four games — suffered a right knee injury.

It remains to be seen how much longer the Gamecocks will be without Archie, whose status will be re-evaluated today.

What is obvious is that the Gamecocks missed him Sunday night. USC led 9-2 after Archie’s dunk and subsequent injury. But by the end of the half, Miami led by three — and the lead reached as many as 15.

“Obviously when you lose somebody like Dominique Archie, not basketball-wise but just because of the kind of person he is, and what he means to our team, it never looked like we recovered from that emotionally, more than anything,” coach Darrin Horn said.

The result showed what those around the USC program have long known: Archie may be as important to the team as Devan Downey.

While Downey is the Gamecocks’ unquestioned star, Archie is the team’s most versatile.